


Re-Domestication

by anthemXIX



Series: A Wolf & Its Boy [3]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Amnesia, Friendship, Gen, Mentor/Protégé, Wolf Link (Legend of Zelda), as much as a wolf can be a mentor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-16 07:34:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29450139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anthemXIX/pseuds/anthemXIX
Summary: Seeking Impa in Kakariko Village is a daunting task for a boy who hardly remembers how to be human.Or: A semi-feral amnesiac and his wolf guardian try to get along with the locals.
Relationships: BotW Link & Wolf Link
Series: A Wolf & Its Boy [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2020630
Comments: 12
Kudos: 37





	Re-Domestication

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello~ this fic has given me so much t r o u b l e, it's ridiculous. i kept adding and removing and revising stuff and ahhh. it was meant to be a one-shot, but i believe it will work best as a multichapter story. 
> 
> this can be read as a standalone, but if you've read the other parts of the series - first off, thank you <3 this is much lighter in tone/content than the others because i wanted to give link a break and have a more positive mood for once, lol. don't worry though, your regularly scheduled angst-fest will resume in part 4. :D (i may post part 4 before i post all the chapters of this, but we shall see.) 
> 
> thanks for reading and i hope you enjoy <3

The wolf lapped water from the river in a dainty manner more befitting a deer than a dog. Deliberate, delicate dips of the tongue ensured minimal splashing and slobbering. Once sated, it politely licked its muzzle clean, an act reminiscent of dabbing a napkin to one’s lips after a meal.

Waning sunshine glinted from the shackle clinched around its ankle, snapped chain clinking quietly against the metal as the wolf retreated from the river’s edge to scout its surroundings. To the west was a monster camp that the wolf and its pup cleared earlier that afternoon; to the east, twin peaks that seemed to have once been united until cloven by the river’s erosion. Views of the north and south were obscured by cliffs and hills that hemmed the river in.

Part of the river diverted into a shallow inlet, and from the inlet jutted the Sheikah-made tower that served as wolf and boy’s polestar since they ventured from the Great Plateau. Jagged rocks, presumably uprooted when the structure burst from the riverbed, encircled the tower’s base. Coiled strips of light, orange like bottled flames, laced the tower, and dots replicating constellations unknown to the wolf adorned the circular platform on top.

Bizarrely, the tower managed to feel both like an organic piece of the landscape and an artificial imposition upon it. This was an apt aura for a manmade structure, the wolf thought, since man couldn’t quite decide whether to conquer Nature or accept a position within it. 

Sensing no imminent dangers in the area, the wolf settled on the shore near the tower to wait for Link’s return. Earlier, he had scaled the tower while the wolf, rigid with tension for the entirety of the pup’s ascent, watched from below. Reaching the top was an impressive feat considering Link's one-hundred-year stasis, which no doubt atrophied his strength and stamina. Death, it seemed, had not tarnished his resolve. Hylia had chosen her hero wisely, and the wolf was proud of its resilient pup.

Languidly, the wolf watched the aqua water jet by, the salty, mineral taste lingering on its tongue and in the air. Green bass occasionally breached the water in mock- _jeté_. Tiny sparrows with coats of a similar shade pecked at the opposite bank, their airy chirrups as weightless as their delicate hops. If not for the mangled bokoblin remains on the other side of the inlet, the scene would have been rather picturesque.

Despite seeing only the slightest fraction of this Hyrule so far, the wolf believed the entire kingdom must be endowed with beautiful vistas. Not for the first time, the canine wished it could transform, if only for the blessing of opposable thumbs and flexible fingers. It wanted to climb that tower right alongside the pup and revel in the view, wanted to discover what else had changed between this era and its own. 

How much time had elapsed between the two eras was unclear, but given the radical discrepancies in the landscape, it must have been millennia upon millennia. The world’s very bones had shifted like clay pinched and pulled by an assiduous sculptor. Mountains had flattened; plateaus had risen; rivers had wrinkled earthen skin. At some stage of this metamorphosis, the artifices of human influence had succumbed to Nature’s power, dismantled and resorbed into the body of the earth, liberating the wilds to reclaim the world.

And the wolf could not wait to explore it all.

A mechanical _whir_ from above caught the wolf’s attention. As the tower’s steeple extended, glittering blue streamers of light erupted to life, eddied around the structure, and then infused with it, erasing all trace of orange in a showy exhibition of melded magic and technology.

With the soft _swoosh_ of breeze-blown cloth, Link paraglided from the tower in unhurried descent. The pup alighted on the silty bank not far from the wolf. It trotted to him, tail waving like a victory banner.

Though plainly fatigued, the pup sparkled like the river as he plopped to the dirt and whipped out the Sheikah Slate. He turned the screen towards the wolf and excitedly pointed at the new portion of the map he’d uncovered by activating the tower. Hylian runes, evolved beyond the wolf's comprehension, labelled each landmark, and the boy began to read them aloud.

“Squabble River,” he said, pointing to the gushing body of water they’d chased here.

The pair of mountains came next. “Dueling Peaks.”

Then he indicated the gleaming structure he’d just conquered. “Dueling Peaks Tower.” 

From here, he traced his finger through Dueling Peaks and along a road that winded through plains, swamps, and foothills, culminating with the blinking dot that marked their destination. “Kakariko Village.”

They studied the map together, the large wolf sitting behind the boy and resting its head on his shoulder. Link listed a few more landmarks before noting an unmarked icon of a horse’s head. “What’s this?”

The wolf gave an unsure grunt, and the pup hummed in response, contemplating.

“Too far,” he said. Choppy phrases were all he could manage for now, his speech out of practice. “Dark soon. Tomorrow.”

Approving, the wolf nuzzled the boy, who huffed a laugh and scratched behind his friend’s ears. From his Slate, he pulled a bundle of firewood and a piece of flint. “Dinner?”

The wolf lolled its tongue in anticipation, and Link smiled broadly in return. He constructed a campfire and used spears to prop two slabs of meat above the flames. The wolf had hunted a boar for them in the night, and this morning, Link had attempted to skin, debone, and butcher the animal. It was a bloody, messy affair, and the wolf wished it could teach the kid how to properly undertake the process. Now, leftover blood welled to the surface and dripped into the fire with a _sizzle_.

When Link determined the meat to be thoroughly cooked (a skill he’d mastered through unfortunate trial and error), he placed the bigger hunk in front of the wolf and plucked up his smaller portion, ripping chunks of it off with his canines.

Afterwards, Link washed his hands and face in the river and took several long sips of water; then he and the wolf wandered around the inlet, exploring until it was too dark to see. In that interval, they unearthed a treasure chest containing a ruby. Fascinated, Link flipped the raw gemstone over and over, examining its natural cuts, running his fingertips along the smooth sides.

He held it out for the wolf to see. “Pretty.”

It was. A wag of the tail sufficed as agreement. Link stowed the red stone for later.

Wolf and pup slept in the dirt back-to-back, pressed together.

In the morning, they continued up Squabble River, dispatching the bokoblins and octoroks that attacked them on the way. The route between the mountains spilled out into an expansive plain, and right away they spotted what was indicated by the map’s unlabeled horse icon.

Topped with a rudimentary horse-like effigy, the stable bustled with travelers swapping goods and stories. Stable-hands filled feed troughs and tended steeds. A being unlike any the wolf had seen—a colorful anthropomorphic parrot—played a solemn accordion ditty for onlookers gathered around an iron cookpot.

The boy’s task to track down Impa in a village implied there were other people still alive in this Hyrule, but they’d yet to meet a single soul. To see someone, much less a dozen someones, after absolute solitude jarred the wolf…yet the shock surely resonated much more powerfully for Link. Aside from the wolf and the King’s ghost, the boy had spent his three weeks of life in total isolation, only acquainted with the remnants of civilization: ancient technology, century-old rubble. This stable was Link’s first glimpse in his second life of living, breathing people.

That alone must have disconcerted the boy, but the wolf wondered if the magnitude of this moment was greater. Could the pup remember seeing another person _ever_? Could he recall the faces of anyone he knew? Could he even conjure the mental image of a Hylian at all?

Gaping at the stable, the boy’s face twisted into pained, wary awe, and the wolf could hear his heartbeat quicken, the urgent rhythm reminiscent of a fleeing mouse’s footfalls. The wolf nudged its nose into Link’s palm, luring his attention.

“Go there?” Link whispered, searching the wolf’s eyes for an answer.

_Yes_ , the wolf thought. _Go there. It’s where you belong._

Link worried his lip with his teeth. He glanced over the wolf’s shoulder and gestured to the Shrine adjacent to the stable. With finality, he said, “Go _there_.”

The wolf emitted a protesting whimper. Link shook his head and strode towards the Shrine, allowing the stable a considerable berth.

While waiting for its pup to reemerge, the wolf sat placidly and observed travelers stopping at the neighboring waypoint, merry chatter and horses’ nickers wafting across the winds. Considering the postapocalyptic state of the kingdom, the stable fostered an unexpectedly cheery milieu. Like its pup, the people here were resilient, extricating themselves from the mire of ruin to build their world anew. Scraped together with sparse resources, the stable, a helter-skelter plank-and-canvas construction, seemed a symbol of rebirth.

When Link exited the completed Shrine, he did not acknowledge the stable, opting instead to lead his friend further downriver to a forest. Wolf and boy melted into the opulent verdancy and were lulled into a leisurely afternoon of foraging and apple-picking.

In their roving, they had plenty of company. Horned beetles blended into gruff tree bark; fluffy-tailed squirrels chittered while collecting acorns. A fox darted among the trees, its tangerine coat striking against the mishmash of greens. 

Not all of the company was peaceable, however; their tranquil afternoon was interrupted by the arrival of a gargantuan bear.

Link stared at the predator with the same cautious wonderment he’d shown towards the stable, but this time, his apprehension did not restrain him. He started to _approach_ the deadly animal.

The wolf clamped onto his raggedy tunic and tried to haul the overly adventurous pup away—but not before the bear roared out a warning and tottered up onto its hind legs to tower over them, huge, clawed paws ready to strike.

Link got the message. He scampered away, the wolf two paces behind as a protective buffer between its pup and the agitated animal.

The bear _thunked_ back onto all fours and continued its business of perusing bushes for berries, but Link and the wolf continued sprinting nonetheless.

When they breached the treeline, they paused, breathless, listening for sounds of a pursuer. Finding none, they exchanged weary glances for a moment before Link’s face split into a jovial grin. Adrenaline spurred a bubbly laugh, the sound filling the wolf with the same fond exasperation he felt for the children in Ordon.

Link’s laughter tapered out into a pleased sigh as he gazed at the earth-toned stable partway across the field. In a playfully exaggerated display of determination, he planted his fists onto his hips, set his jaw, and pointed to the building with a firm declaration. “Go there!”

Huffing cheerfully, the wolf softly knocked its head against his hip in acknowledgement, and Link sputtered into snickers again. Apparently, the little adrenaline boost was sufficient to soothe the boy’s nerves.

Link spryly trotted toward the stable, the wolf bounding right by his side.


End file.
